Indira Gandhi International Airport on Wednesday announced the rollout of an e-gate pass facility at its cargo terminal, which is expected to reduce physical contact of a person in gaining entry to the complex besides making the entire process hassle-free.

The GMR group-run Delhi Airport on Wednesday announced the rollout of an e-gate pass facility at its cargo terminal, The first paperless and contactless QR-coded e-gate pass facility at the cargo terminal has come up in association with Celebi and DSCC, the two cargo terminal operators, as well as Delhi Cargo Brokers Association, the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) said in a release. 

DIAL is a joint venture between a GMR Group-led consortium and the Airports Authority of India. 

Under the new system, the airlines, consolidators, or freight forwarders will now upload the scanned copy of Master Airway Bill/ House Airway Bill in the custodian system. The Bill of Entry (BoE) and Out of Charge (OoC) are being transmitted electronically by the Customs to the custodian system. With these details, the customs broker agent will submit the request for issuance of E-gate pass for the delivery of goods and will generate the QR code at his office itself after due verification by the Cargo terminal operator, saving time and resources.

Earlier, the cargo clearing agents had to go through various documentation process and stand in queues at designated counters at the cargo terminal for issuance of gate pass.

“This new paperless and contactless facility, amid a pandemic situation, is aimed at minimizing human interface at the cargo terminals. This will not only bring more efficiency in the process but also reduce paperwork,” a DIAL spokesperson said, claiming it to be the first-of-its-kind facility (across any airport complex) in the country. 

In the erstwhile system, the cargo clearing agents had to go through various documentation processes and stand in queues at designated counters at the cargo terminal for issuance of gate pass.

“The introduction of e-gate pass facility will help strengthen the digitization of the supply chain at the airport besides optimizing on timely delivery of services by air cargo community while adhering to the social distancing norms,” DIAL release quoted Vandana Agarwal, Senior Economic Advisor to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, as saying. 

According to DIAL, the move is in line with the announcement at a recent Permanent Trade Facilitation Committee (PTFC) that the e-gate pass facility would be open to all stakeholders, effective July 1, as an optional service and mandatory from July 15.